Accreditations and Export Licences

How many of you out there have tried to get an accreditation for export Halal or other?
We think it’s being made difficult where in many cases it should have been made easier.

WA Halal meat venture
Friday, 7 May 2004

A WA wheat farmer cooperative has begun a joint venture with a Malaysian corporation to export Halal certified meat for distribution throughout the Muslim World.

Under the deal 100,000 sheep and 16,000 cattle would be killed in WA each year under halal slaughter codes and the meat exported to join venture partner Perak State Development Corporation in Malaysia.

Dowerin farmer and cooperative chairman Michael Irvine said the meat would be sent to Malaysia for packaging and marketed under a halal label to Muslim countries.

"We will send meat up there in basic form and they will package and redistribute it throughout the world" he said.

The cooperative is negotiating for the slaughter to be carried out at Walsh's in Bunbury and the first meat is expected to be exported in 12 months, but is hoped it will happen sooner.

Mr. Irvine said that other WA processors carried out a halal slaughter but the Malaysians wanted to deal directly farmers to ensure a transparent and authentic halal slaughter process.

"It's a whole new ball game when it comes to halal," he said. "When the Malaysians produce hamburger patties they want to be able to guarantee it has come through our chain."

We are working in direct contact with foreign consulates and councils to establish a chain of Halal Abattoirs Australia wide. We will be consulting at grass roots levels with our Australian farmers. For far too long our Australian farmers have been largely ignored when they should be our first priority. Please read the enclosed information and I would seek a meeting with you in relation to this exciting project. Every time we send an animal LIVE from our shores we are sending all our by products from which small goods in the world. Muslims do not eat by-products and simply dispose of that part of the animal. They now realize that they are literally throwing away billions of dollars and intend to make huge changes. Myself and the head of the RSPCA - Queensland, had a recent meeting with high profile Muslim leaders who assured us both that other than for festivals they do not require their meat LIVE and have stated IT IS purely a matter of economics. Live Corp are not exporters, they are purely the middlemen. It is interesting to note that while our Aussie farmer battles and it is said there is no money in farming, that companies such as Elders, and others are riding high on the backs of our farmers and Australian peoples loss.

The AMIEU joined forces with the People Against Cruelty of Animal Transport (P.A.C.A.T.) in a protest on the steps of Parliament House about the excessive cruelty of the live animal export trade and the disastrous effect this obnoxious trade has had on the job security of thousands of meat workers employed short notice to voice their anger.
The Live Export shipping companies are only interested in short term profits as they scan the globe for the cheapest source of live cargo for their clients - they have no long term commitment to Australian farmers and often use "flags of convenience" ships crewed with exploited cheap labour - workers on one ship that recently docked in Fremantle had not been paid for over seven months!
It is only when their unrestricted activities lead to the demise of the Australian Meat Processing industry and the last remaining abattoirs are forced to close will many consumers and farmers alike, realize the strangle-hold they have on our pastoral industry. When farmers are offered a "take it or leave it” price for their stock and consumers are left no option but to purchase Australian meat products processed overseas for inflated prices and of questionable quality

Incidentally, remember how we were told the Asians could only buy their meat freshly slaughtered in 'wet markets'. We were told by grazers, live exporters and politicians that Asian countries had no refrigeration in their homes and shops so they could not accept frozen or chilled beef from Australia…only live cattle.

However it is interesting to note that although Australia is not sending many live cattle they haven't stopped eating meat in these countries. Now that Australian cattle are not available, they are eating frozen beef from South America and India. The fact that it isn't live doesn't seem to be a problem.

The real reason they imported our cattle live is so they could fatten, value-add and slaughter them over there and retain the by-products and jobs in their own countries.

"The Greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Vivisection is the blackest of all the black crimes that man is at present committing against God and His fair creation. It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elementary compassion towards our fellow creatures"